The Purple Jar

Why Samar?  Because it is a place I can really call home.

What is it about Samar that you love?   Fresh seafood, being close to nature, the small town atmosphere in Pagsanghan, and being with the people i love most.

What’s your favorite memory there?  The morning sunlight streaming through the upstairs window onto our sala; riding my bike through rice fields; the smell of my mother and freshly laundered sheets; the sunsets.

What do you do for fun?  I become a glorified tindera in my mother’s bakery/grocery store but it can be fun…sometimes (hehe). I like how effortless it can be for me to lose weight just by counting pandesal.  At night, i sing videoke with my brother and our friends and go around town on a motorcycle or stay up late just talking.

What clothes will you pack?  Shorts, summer dresses, pompom skirts, polo shirts, cotton slacks (for church), racer backs, crocheted tops, a dress for ballroom dancing and cotton camisoles (no long-sleeved shirts!)

What are you essential accessories?  Gold stuff, long bead necklaces, cuffs, anything wooden, watches, my new two-layered pearl necklace (a gift from my 2006 babies), aviator shades, and wide belts.

Essential footwear: Flats, ballet shoes, Havaianas, pink Celine wedges, white abaca wedges, running shoes, no closed-toe mules!

Summer scent: Ralph, The Body Shop’s Olive Oil Dry Mist and Coppertone sunblock

Summer makeup: Pink, purple, neutral, bronze, or green eyeshadow.  Less foundation, more lip gloss. The flushed, just-kissed look.

To eat: Fresh buraw and saguisi-on either fried or inihaw, oysters at P20 per bucket to be boiled and eaten with bare hands, hot monay straight from the pugon, Fruit Cocktail halo-halo and ground pork sandwich from Tina’s Garden, ice scramble, Indian mango, kinilaw na papaya with lots of suka and asin, red rice (calinayan),shabu-shabu, moron, and inihaw na bangus freshly caught from the fishpond.

To drink: Gin pom, frozen Coke at 3 pm, ice blended fruit juice

To do: Hunt for beaches, go dancing, take pictures, chat with old friends of all ages and be able to really look at the full moon and a sky blanketed by stars. This summer, i want to take more bike rides, take real hikes, play tennis, write more in my journal, go to town fiestas, and jog in the early morning.

Can’t wait to leave behind…My computer and my addiction to Bejeweled, the smog of Manila, jam-packed malls and long lines; waking up to my phone alarm

Summer beauty regimen: Sunscreen, virgin coconut oil, henna wax, and salt scrub for exfoliation.  Drink lots of iced water. Have a summer fling (hehe)

Books to read: Kostova’s The Historian, Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, Short Story Masterpieces, Keeping the Love You Find, and pretend to jumpstart my bar review by bringing my Civil Code and Revised Penal Code (hahaha)

Best souvenirs: Fabulous pictures, tinapang buraw, a recording of my parents’ voices, vintage stuff from Mama’s closet, and great kwento.

Something you want to do this summer that you’ve never done before:  To explore the caves in far-off places there and to learn how to drive a motorcycle.

Most unforgettable vacation experience: Being in Samar is not so much a vacaton but more of a retreat.  It represents an alternative life for me, a place whre I recharge and ground myself.  Every homecoming is unforgettable.